The use of mixed metal oxide catalysts for the conversion of carbon monoxide and hydrogen to alcohols has been previously described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,298,354 and also in our copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 653,946. In these patents, the mixed metal oxide catalyst is prepared by coprecipitation of the metal oxides or a form thermally decomposable to the oxides from their aqueous solution by the addition of a precipitating agent such as a hydroxide or carbonate.
The above described process is generally very satisfactory for most metals but it has been found that certain metal compounds, for example, those of uranium, have a high solubility in water, even at pH values above 9, and uranium is for this reason not easily precipitated with the other metals.
Moreover, when an attempt is made to precipitate uranium from aqueous solution together with other metals such as copper it is found that the precipitate contains far less uranium than would be predicted from the amount of uranium compound used to prepare the solution. One consequence of containing only small amounts of uranium is that the selectivity to alcohols containing two or more carbon atoms of the catalyst derived from the precipitate is usually poor.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved process for the preparation of a catalyst for the production of alcohols from carbon monoxide and hydrogen.